Cass McCombs (born in Concord, California in 1977) is an American singer-so… Read Full Bio ↴Cass McCombs (born in Concord, California in 1977) is an American singer-songwriter and performer.

An enigmatic folk nomad, McCombs is a quintessentially American artist; "he's quietly become one of (the country's) finest chroniclers of fringe characters, a writer of heart-rending love songs and psychedelic odes to the natural world, a teller of tall-tales with a sense of humor dry as desert wood, and that rare folksinger who actually sings about the folk." His vocals range somewhere between the anxious drone of Lou Reed, the hollow croon of Elliott Smith, the lilting melody of Morrissey, and the driving earnestness and complexity of bards such as Leonard Cohen or Bob Dylan. His lyrical style is alternately vivid and weary, laconic and yearning, or drifting into the high-spirited and whimsical.

After cutting his first EP, Not the Way in San Francisco in 2001, McCombs relocated to Baltimore, MD. There he released "Not the Way" in 2002 and recorded his first full-length, A, in 2003 on Monitor Records. He spent the next few years touring: playing All Tomorrow's Parties; and opening for bands such as Modest Mouse, The Decemberists, and Belle and Sebastian; before recording his second LP PREfection, which was released on 4AD in 2005.

McCombs' subsequent releases have been on the highly successful British independent label Domino Recording Co. 2007's Dropping the Writ was named one of Amazon's Best Albums of that year. Catacombs was voted one of the 50 greatest albums of 2009 by Pitchfork Media, and features Academy Award-nominated actress and singer Karen Black on the track Dreams-Come-True-Girl. During this period, McCombs toured with the likes of Arcade Fire, Andrew Bird, Band of Horses, José González, Beach House, and The Walkmen.

Catacombs also established McCombs' relationship with engineer/producer Ariel Rechtshaid, member of The Hippos and Foreign Born, who produced Grammy-winning hit Climax for Usher, the Plain White T's Grammy-nominated No.1 platinum-selling single Hey There Delilah, and albums for Vampire Weekend, Sky Ferreira, Snoop Lion, and Haim, among others.

In 2010 McCombs played Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago, L.A.'s Culture Collide Festival and Invisible Children Benefit. 2011 offered an extensive headlining tour, an appearance at SXSW, and two albums released by McCombs and produced by Rechtshaid: Wit's End in April and Humor Risk in November. The two albums were made simultaneously. In an interview with Pitchfork, McCombs explains: "Wit's End was started years ago and it slowly made its way to the finish line. Humor Risk was just punched out. They're friends but they're different. Wit's End is like a stew; Humor Risk is the raw food diet."

Big Wheel and Others, McCombs' seventh full-length (and first double album) was released in October 2013. The album is rooted in the Americana mythos of the Wild West, from the San Francisco drug culture to the gunslingers and gold rush of the nineteenth century. The album once again features Karen Black on a version of the track Brighter!, her final recording before passing away due to ampullary cancer in August, 2013. Big Wheel is dedicated to her memory.

http://cassmccombs.com

Dreams-Come-True-Girl
Cass McCombs Lyrics

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You're not my dream girl
You're not my reality girl
You're my dreams-come-true-girl

All the troubles in my past
That's just what they are
And all the delusions that took host then passed
Have only made my immunity strong

You're not my dream girl
You're not my reality girl
You're my dreams-come-true-girl

I've been blessed, your eyes are two moons
I hope this voyage will not be ending very soon

To scry in orbit with these mirrors of perfection
To die in he arms of your affection

What land is this?
May I never wake
What land is this?
May I never wake

You're not my dream girl
You're not my reality girl
You're my dreams-come-true-girl

All the troubles in my past
That's just what they are
And all the delusions that took host then passed
Have only made my immunity strong

I'm not your dream girl

Overall Meaning

I'm not your reality girl
I'm your dreams-come-true-girl

In this song, Cass McCombs is addressing a woman who he considers to be his dream-come-true-girl. He distinguishes her from his dream girl and reality girl, implying that she holds a special place in his life. He reflects on how his past struggles and delusions have only made him stronger, and he is grateful for this as it has led him to her. He is in awe of her, describing her eyes as "two moons" and hoping that their time together does not end soon. He also speaks of wanting to die in the arms of her affection, which could be interpreted as a desire for their relationship to be long-lasting and meaningful.

The repeated line "what land is this, may I never wake" adds an interesting layer to the song. It seems to suggest that he is almost in disbelief that he has found someone so special, and he does not want this reality to end. He asks himself what land he is in because it feels so surreal and too good to be true. He hopes to never wake up from this dream-like state.

Line by Line Meaning

You're not my dream girl
You're not just a figment of my imagination

You're not my reality girl
You're not just a realistic entity in my life

You're my dreams-come-true-girl
You're the girl that has brought my dreams to life

All the troubles in my past
All the difficulties I have faced before

That's just what they are
They are simply events that have happened in my life

And all the delusions that took host then passed
And all the illusions that I once believed in

Have only made my immunity strong
Have only made me stronger and more resilient

I've been blessed, your eyes are two moons
I feel fortunate, your eyes are hypnotic and captivating

I hope this voyage will not be ending very soon
I wish that this journey with you will continue for a long time

To scry in orbit with these mirrors of perfection
To gaze at the beauty of the cosmos with these perfect reflections

To die in he arms of your affection
To pass away in the embrace of your love